So are you saying those things do equal each other?
Because they clearly don't.
Also, saying the football decisions are his doesn't contradict anything he or Hutton have subsequently claimed. The bomb squad were clearly dropped for financial and not footballing reasons.
I'm saying that the decision to play Lowton over Hutton straight away, without any rotation or bedding-in period, suggests that there was a clear plan to freeze out high-earners. It seems likely that that plan was agreed with Lambert. It's not like Lowton started out playing amazingly that season. And yes, as mentioned above, Bent and N'Zogbia played a few games here and there, but it wasn't that long before Bowery was making the bench ahead of Bent. Holman barely played either. I don't think the idea that there was a plan to freeze out high earners, that Lambert signed on to, is really that wild or hard to believe.
I may be alone in thinking this but I think Hutton was told to leave as a way to win over the fans. He was poor in that season but really had been made a scapegoat by the fans along with the rest of the back 4.
I personally think Collins is head and shoulders above Clark and Baker and Warnock was better than Bennett. I didn't hear many fans complaining at the time when they were forced out. The majority seemed to think it was the right call.